Vegevore or Meatatarian
Vegetarianism has spread through our homeschool group, like ukus (Hawaiian for head lice) spread through Roman's preschool. Fortunately, both have skipped our house, although, I'm not holding my breath on the ukus (pronounced oo-koos).
My kids are both confirmed carnivores. They love meat. Love it. We've never kept the source of meat a secret. In fact, we have focused many a dinner conversation on the fact that an animal had to die in order for us to eat it and we therefore will not waste food, but will eat it -- respectfully, thankfully.
Reilly Kate must have been about two when she first talked about going hunting. I don't remember specifically what brought it up, but we were talking about cute, little, fluffy bunny rabbits.
"Do people eat bunnies?" she asked.
"Ummm, yeah. They are farmed and hunted. And they're kept as pets, too. They make great pets," I offered.
Nodding, she said with confidence, "When I get big, I'm gonna go kill a bunny rabbit so I can eat it."
She then proceeded to describe, in great detail, how she would go into a forest and kill a cute, fluffy bunny and throw it over her shoulder to bring it back to her house to cook and eat.
That's when I knew vegetables would always be a side dish on her plate.
Since moving here, to what we affectionately call "rural DC," we have been buying beef and pork from a natural, sustainable farm in Delaplane, Virginia. We've made several trips out to the farm, and have even been invited to meet our "beef" prior to slaughter. Much to the kids disappointment, I turned that offer down. Looking face to face with my dinner would turn me into a vegetarian faster than you can say PETA.
Mike took the kids out to the slaughterhouse to pick up our processed pork. When they walked in, there hung a freshly killed, skinned deer, sans head. Now, had either Mike or I, being the city kids we were, seen something like that at our kids' ages, we'd have been so scarred that Thanksgiving would have been all about Tofurkey and eggplant. But our kids took it all in stride.
"Look," said Roman, pointing. "Blood."
"Where's the head?" asked Reilly Kate.
"Why'd they cut the head off?" echoed Roman.
"Well, nobody eats the head," answered Mike.
"How come?" they inquired.
Yeah, a little freaky for former vegans like Mike and I -- oh, I haven't yet mentioned our vegan years when Thanksgiving actually was all about Tofurkey and eggplant? But I think both Reilly Kate and Roman have a healthy understanding of the food chain and accept their place in it.
So imagine my surprise when Reilly Kate says to me that her homeschooled and recently turned veggie friend, Zack, told her a secret -- a secret that she wasn't to tell anyone, even me. Of course, she doesn't keep secrets from me, YET. Out pours the big secret:
"Cows have to be killed for us to get burgers," she whispers.
"Right. Yeah. You know that already," I said.
"Yes, I know," she continued to whisper. "But I didn't know it was a secret."
From now on we'll pretend to pick our burgers off the burger bush. Hopefully, no one will hear the carrots scream or the berries whimper. And hopefully, we get the ukus and not the veggies. It's easier to cure the ukus.
My kids are both confirmed carnivores. They love meat. Love it. We've never kept the source of meat a secret. In fact, we have focused many a dinner conversation on the fact that an animal had to die in order for us to eat it and we therefore will not waste food, but will eat it -- respectfully, thankfully.
Reilly Kate must have been about two when she first talked about going hunting. I don't remember specifically what brought it up, but we were talking about cute, little, fluffy bunny rabbits.
"Do people eat bunnies?" she asked.
"Ummm, yeah. They are farmed and hunted. And they're kept as pets, too. They make great pets," I offered.
Nodding, she said with confidence, "When I get big, I'm gonna go kill a bunny rabbit so I can eat it."
She then proceeded to describe, in great detail, how she would go into a forest and kill a cute, fluffy bunny and throw it over her shoulder to bring it back to her house to cook and eat.
That's when I knew vegetables would always be a side dish on her plate.
Since moving here, to what we affectionately call "rural DC," we have been buying beef and pork from a natural, sustainable farm in Delaplane, Virginia. We've made several trips out to the farm, and have even been invited to meet our "beef" prior to slaughter. Much to the kids disappointment, I turned that offer down. Looking face to face with my dinner would turn me into a vegetarian faster than you can say PETA.
Mike took the kids out to the slaughterhouse to pick up our processed pork. When they walked in, there hung a freshly killed, skinned deer, sans head. Now, had either Mike or I, being the city kids we were, seen something like that at our kids' ages, we'd have been so scarred that Thanksgiving would have been all about Tofurkey and eggplant. But our kids took it all in stride.
"Look," said Roman, pointing. "Blood."
"Where's the head?" asked Reilly Kate.
"Why'd they cut the head off?" echoed Roman.
"Well, nobody eats the head," answered Mike.
"How come?" they inquired.
Yeah, a little freaky for former vegans like Mike and I -- oh, I haven't yet mentioned our vegan years when Thanksgiving actually was all about Tofurkey and eggplant? But I think both Reilly Kate and Roman have a healthy understanding of the food chain and accept their place in it.
So imagine my surprise when Reilly Kate says to me that her homeschooled and recently turned veggie friend, Zack, told her a secret -- a secret that she wasn't to tell anyone, even me. Of course, she doesn't keep secrets from me, YET. Out pours the big secret:
"Cows have to be killed for us to get burgers," she whispers.
"Right. Yeah. You know that already," I said.
"Yes, I know," she continued to whisper. "But I didn't know it was a secret."
From now on we'll pretend to pick our burgers off the burger bush. Hopefully, no one will hear the carrots scream or the berries whimper. And hopefully, we get the ukus and not the veggies. It's easier to cure the ukus.
posted by The Histrionics of a Fat Housewife at 8:25 PM
6 Comments:
Too funny. It's so easy to forget where our food comes from when it's wrapped up so pretty in those little parcels at the grocery store!
I'm glad to see you posting again! :o)
Is Zack a veggie, too, or just Trevor? ;) Did he tell Reilly Kate it was a secret? That's too funny! Glad I have another blog to read now and you're updating!
Yes, I'm posting again. For now anyway. I don't know what I'm going to do with that other blog. Someone was just telling me today that WordPress is easier than Blogger, but as I cannot type in any text, I'm thinking it is not for me.
Devon, Zack has been down on meat since talking to Trevor about it. I don't know if he's still refusing meat now, but as of a week and a half ago, he was totally not doing the chicken we brought over to Tami's. It's a vegelution!!
Yeah they go bunny hunting up here. Well any type of hunting really. I could not bring myself to do it. I like to shoot guns off and do archery but that's about it.
OMG! I didn't realize he had sworn off at least chicken- i promise I didn't show Trevor Peta's website or anything he could talk about in graphic detail. I can just imagine Trevor getting up on his soap box about factory farming. you know our mummy chicken, I can't bring the poor bird out without Trevor sighing and saying "that poor factory farmed chicken." heh.
It's just a coincidence but my latest blog entry will show you exactly what I feel about vegetarianism. Vegetarians are great! I love them. Keeping the demand for meat down. All the cheaper for me! Don't get me wrong, I like vegetables too. I think if you look closely at the meatloaf pics on my blog you can see little hunks of veggies in it.
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